Re-Arm

The Re-Arm project concerns research into the recovery of arm function in two syndromes: cerebrovascular accent (CVA) and Cerebral Palsy (CP). For a better diagnosis and personalised treatment, there is a need for a scientific model in which the function of the affected arm can be broken down into several factors: muscle strength, a reflex component, stiffness of the muscles and joints, and the tendency to combine desired movements with other movements (synergy) involuntarily.
Within this project, we use a diagnostic robot for measurements of the shoulder and the elbow, designed by the company Hankamp Rehab: the SEP. A measurement protocol has been drafted in collaboration with physiotherapists and doctors within Rijndam Rehabilitation Centre to measure the affected arm’s function using the SEP. We performed all measurements with the SEP at Erasmus MC, recruiting patients from Rijndam Rehabilitation Centre. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 we have not been able to measure the intended number of 115 participants. However, 94 participants proved sufficient for the analyses we had prepared in advance. All data have been analysed and partly already reported in scientific articles. Within this project, we are also working on a systematic review, together with a resident Rijndam Rehabilitation. We have presented at the following conferences in recent years: (1) Summerschool Leuven University, Belgium; (2) Congress on Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, the Netherlands; (3) The American Society of Neurorehabilitation, Chicago; (4) Two abstracts, the World Congress of Neurorehabilitation, Lyon; (5) Dutch Congress Rehabilitation Medicine (DCRM), the Netherlands; (6) 3 Abstracts, Biomedical Engineering (BME 2021), the Netherlands. This project has been additionally financed with a contribution of Health Holland (TKI) and Hankamp Rehab BV.